Second Chances
by uagrl93
Summary: Forgiveness. What if that was the price for being with the person that you love? Callie has a decision to make. And if she wants to be with Brandon - openly - she has to forgive the person that has brought her a world of pain. Only people that you love have the power to truly hurt you. Can Callie erase the disappointment of being abandoned by the person she loved the most?
1. Chapter 1

**Another idea that I came up with. Sorry that I haven't posted any new chapters for my other stories. I guess I just haven't been inspired to write anything new for any of them. **

**Hope you like this story. Ever since the first episode, I've imagined what Callie's family was like and I came up with this...**

* * *

As Callie rounds the corner, walking to the Fosters' house, she was stunned to see Stef and Lena sitting on the front steps. Warily, Callie places one foot in front of the other wondering, "_Is someone in trouble? Did something bad happen?_"

When Lena spots Callie not far away, she yells, "Callie. We need to speak with you."

Callie wrecks her brain to figure out what she has done wrong, coming to the conclusion that her behavior has been impeccable the past few months. Callie sits in between them, her eyes darting from Lena to Stef and back to Lena. "Is something wrong?" Callie assumes that they must know about her and Brandon's relationship. Why else would they have such dire facial expressions?

"No. Nothing is wrong." Stef says the last word with an emphasis and attempted conviction.

Callie breathes an imaginary sigh of relief, glad that she and Brandon are off the hook. Callie gives an inquisitive look to Lena.

"Sweetie." Lena is clearly trying to ease Callie into something, which makes Callie uneasy. "There is someone who contacted the system, and as a consequence, me and Stef, who wants to see you and Jude." Lena doesn't give away enough details for Callie to figure out who the person is.

Callie shifts, attempting to hide her anxiety. "Who is it?" She pronounces the words slowly and quietly, almost uncertain whether she wants to know.

Lena shoots Stef a look, letting her do the hard part. "Ryan." Stef says, awaiting Callie's reaction.

The three of them sit in silence. Callie processes the information in her mind for a minute. She hopes that it's a mistake, that maybe it is not the Ryan she is thinking of. Unfortunately, he is the only Ryan she knows.

"My brother Ryan?" Callie can barely get the words out because she hasn't even thought about her brother in years.

"Yes." Lena places a hand on Callie's knee, noticing Callie's pained expression.

Callie raises to her feet, simultaneously saying, "I don't want to see him." She runs into the house.

Brandon has noticed Callie's bad mood since yesterday, but has been unable to find a private moment to ask her about it. Luckily, school has a lot more private hideouts than the Fosters' home.

Brandon is leaning against a railing, waiting for Callie. He knows the exact doors she will exit through and when he spots her, he yells, "Cal. Wait up." He jogs over, matching her pace. "Did your teacher hold you up again?"

"No." It is obvious that Callie's bad mood hasn't gone away yet. An indication are Callie's sharp answers. The more direct her responses, the more upset she is. This system has always worked for Brandon.

"My moms have been whispering a lot. And I noticed they spoke to you. Is something wrong?"

Callie suddenly stops, grabbing Brandon's hand. "Are you spying on me?"

"No. Of course not."

Callie sees the concern in Brandon's eyes, making her feel guilty for snapping at him. She turns and begins to walk again. "I'm sorry."

Brandon follows Callie. "It's fine. I just wish you would tell me what is bothering you."

"It's my brother." Callie eventually gets the words out.

"Jude?"

"Jude does have something to do with it, but I mean Ryan. I mentioned him to you once." Callie watches as people rush to their cars, going home or to the mall, excited about the weekend.

"The name is familiar, but you never said he's your brother." Brandon watches Callie's unchanging expression, recognizing that she is fighting to keep her emotions locked up. "Did something happen to him?"

"He wants to see me, out of the blue." Callie grimaces and looks at Brandon for a split-second, enough time to catch his expression.

From a distance, Callie hears someone calling her name and she turns around. She perceives a guy - tall, brunette, resembling Callie in many features - walking towards her.

Callie looks around for an escape route, wondering if she has enough time to make a clean break. She comes to the conclusion that a scene would be inevitable.

The guy stands in front of Callie, an awkward smile on his face. "Hi Callie." He attempts to hide the anxiety in his voice.

"What are you doing here?" Callie is less than polite, angry that he came despite her wishes.

Ryan's smile fades, pain floods his eyes. "Is that a way to greet your brother after years of separation?" He opens his arms for an embrace that Callie simply shrugs off.

"Hi. I'm Brandon." Brandon extends his hand, trying to shift the attention from Callie.

"Hi. Nice to meet you." Ryan shakes Brandon's hand. "How do you know Callie?"

Brandon looks at Callie, noticing her annoyance and lack of desire to be in this particular situation. "I'm..." Brandon stops himself from saying 'boyfriend' because it is always on the tip of his tongue. "Her foster brother." Brandon answers Ryan's question.

Ryan's attention shifts back to Callie. He strokes her arm, stopping at the elbow and squeezing it. "Cal. Cheer up. I missed your smile so much."

"I bet you did." Callie says sarcastically, meeting Ryan's gaze.

"Would you mind if I talked to Callie alone?" Ryan asks Brandon, not peeling his eyes off of Callie for an instant.

Callie stares into Ryan's eyes, searching for a reason to hate him, but finding none. She perceives the brother she used to know. Despite Ryan's abandonment and the years that Callie had to fend for herself, she doesn't hate him. Every day Callie imagined that Ryan would come back for her and Jude. In the darkest of times, that dream would bring a smile to Callie's face. It was the light of every tunnel, the silver lining of every cloud.

Brandon looks at Callie, prolonging his answer, giving her every chance to refuse Ryan's offer.

A slight smile plays at the corners of Callie's mouth. She tries to hide it with no avail. "Brandon, it's fine. Can you tell Lena and your mom that Ryan will drop me off later?"

Brandon looks for a hint of doubt in Callie's eyes, but she seems content with her decision. "It was nice meeting you Ryan." He eventually says.

"You too Brandon." Ryan replies.

Brandon walks in the direction of his car, turning a few times to make sure Callie is alright. Brandon notices Callie follow Ryan to his car and get in. They drive off.

Ryan and Callie find a cafe overlooking the beach and they sit outside with their cold drinks. Ryan studies Callie, observing her head to toe. It makes her feel somewhat uneasy, but she does the same thing to Ryan when he is not looking.

Eventually Ryan breaks the silence. "So, tell me about your life. I know that I missed a lot, but I'm here now." His words sound apologetic and Callie tries not to focus on the fact that a single outing won't be enough to explain her whole life story.

"There's not much to tell." Callie turns her head to look at the waves, the people on the beach, and anything else in sight to avoid Ryan's gaze.

"When I left with dad, I figured you would be okay with your mom. I couldn't have imagined that things would turn out the way that they did." Ryan explains.

"I know." Callie nods, still refusing to look at Ryan.

"I should have come sooner. I'm really sorry." Ryan is a little upset by Callie's coldness.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure you had more important things to do." Callie purses her lips. "High school. College. Dating." She turns her head, revealing her watery eyes. "Just about anything besides taking care of me and Jude." A tear flows down Callie's cheek.

Ryan extends his arm, wanting to wipe away Callie's tear, but she leans back and wipes it off herself. "That's not how it was." Ryan places his hand on Callie's. "I used to send you letters. Didn't you get any of them?"

"Yeah. They worked well to kindle trash can fires." Callie removes her hand from under Ryan's.

"When I heard that your mom died, you and Jude were already in the system. Plus, I was just a teenager. What did you expect me to do?"

Callie shakes her head, disappointed with Ryan's justification. "You and dad are so alike. When things get tough, you pretend not to notice." Callie looks down at the table.

"Dad walked away from all of us, not only you. And I am nothing like him because I would never willingly abandon the people that I love." Ryan's pained expression goes unnoticed by Callie.

Callie wraps her fingers around her glass, looking at her drink. "You can't even imagine what happened to me in the foster homes that I was placed in." Callie holds back the rest of the tears that have formed. "I needed someone to depend on, someone to talk to. Dad was the last person I could count on. But you... I didn't expect you to fix things. I expected you to be there. You say you were just a teenager, implying that you couldn't have done anything. Well I was just ten years old, and I took care of myself and Jude. I had to make a lot of sacrifices." Callie scoots back her chair and runs inside the cafe, searching for the ladies' room.

Once in the privacy of the bathroom stall, she releases the tears that have collected behind her eyes. She thinks of the day that her family fell apart. As she sat at her bedroom window, Callie witnessed her mom and dad fighting on the front lawn. They yelled, their words - their insults - reaching Callie's ears, as well as the neighbor's. Callie watched their motions, her mom's tears, her dad's waving of the arms. She memorized every detail of that scene, replaying it numerous times over the years. The detail that stuck out the most was Ryan, as he stood next to the car, mouthing to Callie, "Everything will be alright." By dinner time, Callie's father was gone, taking Ryan with him. That was the last time Callie had seen either of them. Her mother cried over the sink as Jude and Callie sat at the kitchen table, eating cookies and drinking milk.

Callie looks at her reflection in the mirror, examining the mess that she doesn't quite recognize as herself. She takes a paper towel, placing it under the running water, and dabs at her face with it. The redness caused by the tears subsides.

Callie stares at her reflection, unable to bring herself to move, to return to the table and sit across from Ryan. She notices a window out of the corner of her eye. Without a second thought, Callie pulls at the latch and swings the window open. She throws her bag out and climbs through, legs first. To her surprise, the landing does not hurt as much as she expected. Callie makes her way to the bus stop across the street.

Within ten minutes, Ryan bangs on the bathroom door and asks a woman to check if there is a teenage girl inside. The woman explains that the bathroom is empty. Ryan realizes that Callie is long gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the reviews. Sorry it took so long, but here's another chapter.**

* * *

Callie sneaks in through the back door, hoping that Lena and Stef are upstairs. She trots to the refrigerator, swinging it open. Due to the fact that she missed dinner, Callie searches for the leftovers. The bus ride was longer than it should have been, especially because Callie got on the wrong bus. Her thoughts kept her busy and she ended up on the other side of town.

As Callie closes the refrigerator door, she sees Lena standing on the other side of the kitchen island.

"Callie. You missed dinner. Stef and I were worried." Lena strides around the island to stand in front of Callie.

"I'm sorry." Callie keeps her responses short, preventing her from saying something she may regret later. She walks over to the microwave and places the plate of food she gathered inside.

Lena motions for Callie to sit down at the island. "I need to speak to you about Ryan."

"He showed up at school today. I..." Callie begins to explain, but Lena shakes her head.

"I know. He contacted me after he dropped you off at the mall."

Callie is confused about the mall bit. She stares at Lena, trying to act nonchalantly about Ryan's lie which was obviously meant to hide Callie's indiscretion.

"Ryan spoke to me about an arrangement." Lena looks into Callie's eyes, reassuring her that there is nothing to be afraid of.

The microwave makes sound and Callie jumps to retrieve her reheated dinner. She sits back down next to Lena, urging her to continue.

"Ryan is getting married next month." Lena notices Callie's surprise, although Callie doesn't utter a single word about it. Lena pauses in her recollection of the phone call with Ryan.

Callie eats her dinner, putting more and more food in her mouth, avoiding her side of the conversation. At times, she glances at Lena, who has now stopped speaking.

Lena waits for Callie's response.

Eventually, Callie shows an interest in her brother's wedding, asking, "What does his wedding have to do with me? Does he want me to attend?" Callie puts another forkful in her mouth.

"Of course he wants you to attend, but there's more."

Callie looks at the island top, wondering what could be so important.

"After Ryan is married, he will try to get custody of you and Jude." Lena says calmly, easing Callie into a set of information that may produce a much-expected meltdown.

Callie's eyes dart to Lena, almost flying out of her head. She stares in silence for a minute, processing the bad news. "You can't let this happen!" Callie finally gets out.

"There isn't much that I can do. Unless your brother doesn't get approved by the system..." Lena is clearly upset by the circumstances as well.

"He'll get approved, but an outstanding police record doesn't mean anything!" Callie carries her plate to the sink, rinsing it off.

Lena walks over and leans at the counter. "Has he done something bad to you?" Lena asks hesitantly.

"No. My brother is amazing, aside from the fact that he is exactly like our father. He is not a family type of person. When he gets bored, he will walk away..." With each word, Callie's voice gets softer. Her eyes circle the room, fighting back the tears. "I don't want to live with him." Callie runs past Lena.

From a distance, Lena can hear the squeaking of the floor boards as Callie makes her way up the stairs to her bedroom and shuts the door.

* * *

Callie has trouble sleeping and when she checks the clock for the tenth time, she gives up on trying to fall asleep. She throws the covers off and sits up, crossing her legs. For a few minutes, she remains sitting in the dark, thinking.

"_Ryan can't possibly get custody. He's in his twenties. And they have to take into account that he hasn't contacted me or Jude since our mother died." _Callie nods her head, as if she's convinced herself that everything will be fine. "_Except... we are blood relatives. And he has a squeaky clean police record. Probably a good, stable job. _Could he possibly get custody?" Callie utters the last question aloud. She quietly gets to her feet and tiptoes to the door. She looks in Mariana's direction as she slowly twists the door handle. The door doesn't make a noise as Callie sneaks out of the room.

Callie tiptoes down the hall and positions herself in front of Brandon's room, circling her head to check that she is alone. When certain that the coast is clear, Callie knocks three times, the secret knock that she made up with Brandon for situations like this.

There is no answer, indicating that Brandon is fast asleep. Callie opens the door slightly, enough to allow a sliver of light to enter Brandon's room. She gazes at Brandon's outline under the covers. Quietly, Callie paces to Brandon's bed, holds up the comforter and lies beside Brandon.

Callie sits up a bit, resting most of her weight on her left arm and looks at Brandon, watching him sleep. With her right hand, Callie traces Brandon's jaw and his neck, and draws a heart on his chest. Brandon turns onto his side, facing Callie - still asleep - and swings his left arm over her waist. Callie places her head on the pillow next to Brandon's.

"_Brandon is the one person in this entire world who has ever taken care of me." _Callie thinks as she watches his facial features change with each breath in and out. "_He understood me and supported me from the moment that we met. He risked his life and his future for me. I cannot be separated from him. I can't let Ryan drag me away to Seattle_." Callie lightly grazes Brandon's lips with hers and puts her head back on the pillow. "_No one walks away."_ Callie reminds herself of the promise that she and Brandon made to each other.

* * *

The morning comes all too soon and Brandon wakes up to find Callie sleeping in his bed, her head resting on his chest. Brandon gathers her hand in his and brings it to his lips, gently kissing it. He sets it on his shoulder, smiling when Callie curls her fingers around his.

A few minutes pass until Callie raises her head off Brandon's chest and their eyes meet.

Callie smiles, still partially asleep. "You're awake. Good morning." She rubs her eyes to wake up faster.

"Yeah, it's a great morning because I woke up to find you in bed with me. Why didn't you wake me?"

"You looked so peaceful. I just wanted to watch you sleep." Callie snuggles into the crook of Brandon's neck.

"I was surprised that you spent the night. Couldn't sleep?" Brandon wraps his arms around Callie, burying his face in her hair. Brandon takes Callie's silence as a 'yes'. "Don't get me wrong, with you next to me, it was the best sleep of my life. But do you want to tell me who I should thank for this amazing gift?"

"Not really, but you'll find out anyway so you might as well hear it from me." Callie drags it out, but eventually sits up.

Brandon pulls Callie closer, wrapping his arms around her once again. She leans back, putting her weight onto Brandon's arms as he holds her, in a cradle position, crossing his arms at her waist.

"I thought about it last night and I think we should run away. I know it sound irrational, but I can't let him take me away from here." Callie explains.

"Who? Ryan?" Brandon inquires, looking down at Callie, awaiting a reaction.

"Yes. He wants to get custody."

"Would that be so bad? You wouldn't be my foster sister anymore and our relationship wouldn't be forbidden." The thought of revealing their relationship to everyone makes the blood coursing though Brandon's veins warm a little.

"I thought about that too. But are you ready for a long distance relationship? Because I'm not." Callie tilts her head back to look at Brandon.

"Why long distance?" Brandon's eyes meet Callie's gaze.

"My brother has lived in Seattle for years. I'm pretty sure that's where he intends to live after he gets married."

"Ryan is getting married?" Brandon tightens his hold of Callie.

Callie places her hands on Brandon's wrists and unwraps herself from his embrace. She walks to the window, noticing that the sun is already in the sky. Behind her, Brandon gathers her hair, pulls it to one side and kisses her neck. Callie spins around and stands on her tiptoes to reach for a kiss. She places her lips against Brandon's, her arms landing around his neck. Brandon presses his body to hers, pushing her against the wall.

They miscalculate the distance between them and Brandon's keyboard and crash into it. Brandon's sheet music flies into the air, landing on the chair and the floor. Callie lets out a soft laugh and drops to the floor to gather the papers.

"Leave it. I'll clean up later." Brandon kneels beside Callie, kissing her cheek and her neck.

Callie picks up all of the papers and places them back on the keyboard. She faces Brandon and says, "Please pack. We can leave during lunch." Callie gazes in to Brandon's deep blue eyes, hoping that he will grant her this one wish.

Brandon nods.

Callie gives Brandon a soft, quick kiss and runs to the door. She looks back at him and smiles before opening the door, poking her head out to look for people and nonchalantly walking to the bathroom.

Brandon shakes his head, thinking, "_This is crazy, but I would do anything for her._"


End file.
